The Rules
by FandomApocalypse
Summary: The fandom is declining at a rapid pace. This is a collection of basic rules that people tend to discard when writing fanfiction.  This is for all of the writers of crappy OOC's and horrible stories, with terrifying grammar.
1. Chapter 1

The Rules of Fanfiction

Firstly, report me all you want. No, this isn't a story, and I am breaking the rules of fan fiction by posting this. I am not doing this to be a bitch, or to make you feel bad, but I'm doing this to help you. I know there are many first timers who have just posted their first story, and I was that person too at one time. I am not a professional author, nor will I probably ever be, and my name will never go down on history next to Shakespeare and Dickens. So, take my advice if you choose, report me if you'd like, and flame me.

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><p>1. Capitalization: I know this is such a hard concept to grasp, but there is this amazing thing that is called a shift button! What you do is press it down while you click on the letter that you want capitalized, and there you have it! It's a capital letter! You capitalize the first letter of titles, the first letter in the sentence, and proper nouns! Taking this extra step in writing will make it look like you actually have brain cells and the inside of your head is not a vacuum.<p>

2. Titles and Summaries: As I said in the first rule, you need to capitalize the first letter in the title. Ex. "Trash". If the title is more then one word, then you capitalize the next word too! Ex. "Fanfiction Trash". What gets tricky is when you have a word like "the" in it. "The" is never capitalized unless it is the first word in the title. It's sad that I need to say this, but "I haven't come up with a title yet" is not a title. If you can't think of a title, then don't post it until you do. Now, onto summaries. This is what people read to decide whether or not they want to read your story. Saying that you "suck at summaries" is not going to get someone to read it, it's going to get me pissed, and the rest of the community that has passed second grade. Say you are at a book store, and pick up a book and read the back and it says "sorry, I suck at summaries." Who the fuck is ever going to read that? If someone can't right a fucking summary about what they just put their heart and soul into, then what does that say about their writing ability? It says it's lacking. Summaries should be short and concise and tell the reader what they need to know about the story you are trying to tell. It should talk about the main character and should talk about the conflict in it.

3. Main Characters and Mary Sues: For those newcomers, a Mary Sue is a main character who is flawless, and is usually based on the writer, or more likely what the writer wants to be. This character is maid up and an OC (own character). This types of people rarely ever can work in a fanficiton. Hate to break your poor litter hearts, but people do not come on Fanfiction to read about some pretty little princess of your imagination who has perfect blond hair, and perfect blue eyes, and always gets the guy, and has all the money in the world. I, and most people on here, come on here to read about the characters that Rickipoo comes up with and that we can't get enough of. In a rare occasion, an OC can work. A main character, but a Mary Sue never can. Characters need flaws, and they need to take the readers on an emotional roller coaster with their hits and misses.

4. Point of View: I personally think that the point of view is the hardest thing to conquer. There are three main types of point of view: first person, third person, and omniscient. In first person, a character in the story is a narrator. They use words like "I" and "me." In third person, the story is told by an outside source, or just a narrator. They use words like "he" and "she.". The last type of point of view is omniscient, which is when multiple characters tell the story. If you want the reader to relate to the character, then you should write in first. If you do want to go for the omniscient point of view, then change the speaker every chapter, not every two lines!

5. Out of Character (OOC): One of the worst problems that ever hit Fanfiction is out of character. Some people go out there so far I wonder if it is a joke, only to find out that it isn't. Think before you write "would this character do this?" So, just to say, Percy would not cheat on Annabeth, his fatal flaw is loyalty, Annabeth will never use text talk, and nor should you in a Fanfiction, Annabeth is not a damsel in distress. If you want damsels and distress, then move over to Twilight. If it doesn't seem realistic to your character, then don't do it!

6. Spelling: either get spell check, or a beta, and I'm not talking about the fish, although I bet my fish Katie could spell better then half of you.

7. Reviews: If you have a twelve chapter story, and two reviews, just end it. Honestly, that's just embarrassing. Clearly, you need to change something to get those reviews. And for the people who do take time to write a review, send them a little thanks for reading or something. They took time for you, so take time for them, even if it is a flame. For a flame, say thanks for sharing your opinion. They will never expect that.

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><p>That is all for now. I may add to this as I think of them, and I hope I didn't hurt all of your feelings. Just don't get too discouraged, and remember, try and try again!<p>

If you have any other rules that you think are important I would be happy to hear!


	2. Chapter 2

The Rules of Fanfiction Ch. 2

Thanks for all of the reviews, whether positive of negative. I'm happy to see that others feel the same about the quality of the fandom, and feel as passionately about restoring it to its former glory. I understand it is a free fandom, but I think it is important to try and do our best as writers and take criticism as a positive thing to improve our writing.

A Correction: I made a mistake on the definition of omniscient point of view. It was always explained to me as getting in the head of all of the characters. It is actually that the narrator knows all, and tells you all of what's happening, and what is going to happen. (Thanks anonymous reviewer).

Artemis Stories: I hate to break it to y'all, but Artemis and her hunters are sworn virgins, and that is something that is not going to change. And Thalia leaving the hunt... Highly unlikely. Throughout Greek mythology, Artemis has had hunters that have broken the vow. Whether these girls were raped or were willing, she killed them, or turned them into woodland animals. So, I don't see Artemis having sex with some crazy hot mortal and popping out a few babies very realistic. Thalia leaving the hunters when Luke magically pops out of Hades is also unlikely. So please, when Artemis is in a story, and her hunt is with her, cherries are intact.

Ratings: On Fanfiction, there is a rating system that I believe we are all suppose to read before posting a story. There is K, K+, T, and M. In K and K+, all of the content should be child appropriate. Language shouldn't go beyond "crap," and you shouldn't have much gore or sex at all. T, is made for people 13+. You can use profanity, and have mild sexual content, and substance use such as drugs and alcohol. M is for mature people, 16 and older. This means you can basically do anything you want. The system is basically the same as movie ratings, so I go by that, and it is an easy way for people to understand it (and this is the modern rating system, not in the 80's when everything was PG). Before writing a fic, you should consider what you want the rating to be around, but you should reconsider when it is finished. Rating is pretty much common sense stuff. I think it is a good idea to the tell readers in an author's note why you rated the story the way you did (language, sexual content, drug use, and so on), that way they know what they are getting themselves into when they click on the story. If you are really set on a certain rating though, there are ways to get around them. Put in a few innuendoes, and that will make all audiences happy, older audiences laughing, and younger ignorant to what it was that you just said. Just think of Disney and all of their understood phrases like "I'd love to make sweet music to him" (Hercules).

Length: My general rule for length is 1,000 words, and I think that is a good amount for everyone to aim for. Depending on the story though, it can be less, and it can be more. Some stories are short, and should be that length, were others need to be about 5,000 words to make the chapter seem complete. When you are writing a story that has multiple chapters, it is important to plan it out a little, so then you can add fun things like cliff hangers! It's important to write your work like an actual novel, were chapters are sections in a book were something specific happens, then there is a next chapter were something else happens. You can't just end a chapter whenever you want to, finish it and do it well.

Titles Continued: When it comes to titles, you want to name your story something eye catching. You want something that is interesting, and makes someone want to read your story, not just something that you popped out of your head and is as boring as Algebra. I like to take lines from my story, and then make the title, or take a central idea and name it that. Sometimes, depending on the type of story, you need to name it what it is, like a karaoke story, or truth or dare story (these types of stories can be a little OOC and out there, but more on that later). If you have a story about Percy getting high on lotus flowers, then don't name it "Percy Gets High." Name it instead something like "Stoned Days With Percy Jackson." ( for a similar fic about different people, these are some fun titles: Reeds and Weed, Annabeth on Meth, Blackjack on Crack, Piper's Pipe, Shrooms and Booms (this is for Tyson). If you write a fic like this, please pm me a link, I would love to read it (this is also another story idea that can be a bit OOC). The trick to picking a good title though is doing something really dramatic, random, or some sort of play on words or rhymes.

More on OOC: There are always appropriate and inappropriate times for OOC. OOC can be extremely comical in the right setting (and also in the wrong one, but that's in an "I'm laughing at you and can't wait to review this" sort of way). There are some fanfics that there is no way to do it and make it funny then to make it really outrageous. Stories were this is ok is if the story is a complete and total joke, satire, and were it is meant to be funny, or making fun of people who actually write like this (a good Truth or Dare Fic is an example. No one wants to read a truth or dare fic that goesa little like this:

"So Annabeth, Truth or Dare" asked Travis Stoll, who smirked at her. He was going to bring her down either way.

"Er... Well... truth.". Annabeth replied nervously. She knew she was at risk either way. Travis will play dirty with whatever she chooses.

"Are you a virgin?" He asked her. He already knew the answer was yes, but he knew that even if it was no it was just as embarrassing. He recalled the quote from The Breakfast Club: "Either you are a whore, or a prude."

Annabeth's face turned the color of a ripe tomato. "I am not answering that question Travis! That is inappropriate and too personal!". She stomped out of the room, wearing her embarrassment like a coat. She was so done with this game.

That's too bland for something that you would put under the humor category! I would write an OOC version, but I think I went a little far with the first one... (Note: I do not consider that my best work). So my point is though, that if done right, there is an appropriate place for OOC in Fanfiction. Sometimes as a writer, you need to just have fun with it, and make it extremely unlikely, because we know that Rick isn't going to do it, so it's always fun to read when someone else does it.

If you have any other ideas for rules, I'd love to hear them, and voice my own opinion about them. Thank you for reading, and I encourage you all to review and tell me your opinions (plus the lack of reviewing is a major problem in this fandom). Flames are welcomed! I'm a pyro.


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